Loving Miss Juniper Woods
by DragonNiro
Summary: Might change the title. After a birthday party, and helping a drunk Athena home, Apollo discovers from Athena that Juniper Woods has a crush on him! Now, the attorney in red must figure out what he feels for the student judge over the next few months... Expect romance and side parings!
1. What do you mean I'm oblivious?

**So, new Ace Attorney Fanfiction. I'll explain more in Author's Note, so in the mean time, enjoy!**

* * *

Loving Miss Juniper Woods

Part 1

"What do you mean I'm oblivious?!"

* * *

Apollo has never considered himself oblivious.

Well, it would be extremely hard for him as a lawyer if he was oblivious.

Trying to point out contradictions, finding evidence and cornering witnesses would be extremely difficult for a oblivious person. One would question how the person would get an attorney's badge in the first place.

Apollo is always quick to notice the details and contradictions in the crimes and witness's testimony, and with the power of noticing habits in the witness using his bracelet, Apollo is always pointing out the contradictions at any point.

He is not an oblivious person.

Even outside of the Courtroom, Apollo has quick senses to see what is happening, and is quick to react.

The other day, while out with Trucy shopping for food for the Wright & Co. Law Offices, Apollo noticed that a man was about to sexually assault Trucy from behind, who was looking at some deals at a jewellery store, doing window shopping.

Apollo was quick to act, and punched the man, before calling the police.

Trucy had seen the man at the last second before he was about to do the crime, but Apollo intervened before she or the man did anything.

Along with Trucy's story of the events, plus some Camera footage from the store near the window, successfully jailed the man, and Apollo wasn't arrested for assaulting a man, ruling that he attacked the man to prevent a crime happening.

Although in the papers, it was only a small story, spanning a couple of weeks, Phoenix was extremely grateful to Apollo for saving Trucy.

Apollo remarked that Trucy felt like a sister to him and all he did was protect his family from harm.

You know the truth about Apollo and Trucy, so I'll skip this bit.

Apollo can also tell when something is wrong. Athena acted normal for a couple of days, but ever so often, Apollo felt a habit appearing, and she felt nervous because of that.

He couldn't get it out of her what she was thinking, so he went to Simon Blackquill to see if he knew anything about it.

Turns out Athena's mother, Metis Cykes' birthday was coming up soon, and Athena was probably depressed about it.

So, Apollo, along with Simon, went with Athena to Metis's grave on her birthday. Lit some incense candles, and let Athena and Simon have some time to think, while Apollo stands at a distance.

Apollo knows when someone is upset, and seeing someone that he cares about in pain hurts him.

Athena is like family to Apollo, and he hates seeing family in pain.

All of his friends, he cares very much about them, and would gladly defend them if they got into trouble.

So, after this, we can safely establish that Apollo is NOT oblivious.

But, why are we talking about this?

Well, the other day, there was a party, Apollo's in fact.

Usually, he would go out to town with Clay to have a good time on his birthday.

But ever since... the UR-1 Incident finally closing, and the Phantom caught, Apollo has been left minus a best friend.

So, the rest of Wright & Co. Law Offices decided to throw a party for Apollo, to cheer him up a bit.

They invited almost everyone that Apollo knew, from his clients like Vera Misham and Wocky Kitaki, to his other friends, like Solomon Starbuck and even Aura Blackquill (Simon managed to get permission from the Chief Prosecutor himself to let Aura out of prison just for the party.)

Athena even invited Juniper, Robin and Hugh from Themis.

So, the party commenced, with everyone having a good time (Apollo swears that he saw Simon pull a full grin.), some dancing was involved (Marlon Rimes and Sasha Buckler were having a dance off), food and drink to go around, apparently some dude named Larry turned up and spiked the punch with Alcohol, causing Phoenix to tell him off and others to mistake Larry as Solomon.

After a while, when Phoenix moved the punch to the kitchen, it was time for Apollo to open his presents from everyone else.

The presents were varied depending on the person who gave the present. Wocky, for example, gave Apollo a box filled with variates of small cakes from his family bakery, made by him and his father. Apollo thanked Wocky for the thought.

There were some presents that made Apollo emotional with happiness.

Vera, with the help of Solomon who both met with the help of Trucy, got an old photo of Clay and him made into a painting for Apollo, along with a letter from Clay the day before his death addressed to Apollo, which Solomon found while sorting out Clay's locker at the Space Station.

Yuri didn't give anything, but gave some information that the rocket for the next Space Mission is going to be named the Clay-T-1, which was more than enough for Apollo himself.

Robin was weeping over the painting, saying it's the best thing she's ever seen, and begged Vera to teach her to draw like that, with the said artist silent, as usual.

There were some other presents that Apollo was given, like an album by the Gavinners, ironically not given by Klavier but by Trucy, and the Rock God Prosecutor gave Apollo a box set of Doctor Who episodes and a camera.

Phoenix gave Apollo a new bike, since his old one was stolen during the UR-1 Incident re-opening, and Athena gave a book on astrology, but one of the most surprising gifts was from Juniper.

She gave Apollo a red scarf with a white outlining, to fit with his usual court appearance. It was clearly made with hard work, as Apollo felt the material was soft and stitched finely, something he smiled at.

He thanked Juniper for this, but noticed that she was blushing slightly, and was directing her gaze away from Apollo.

"_Eh?_" was the only thing on Apollo's mind as Juniper went to take her seat back down.

Afterwards, as the party continued into the late hours, Apollo was thinking about the little exchanged between him and Juniper with the present thing for about half an hour, thinking why Juniper acted like that, but then joined in for the rest of the party.

So, the party commenced once more, some people getting drunk due to them finding the spiked punch and drinking it. Trucy was one of them, though Phoenix managed to stop her before she went too far, and proceeded to kick Larry out.

So, around one o'clock in the morning, after Simon took Aura back to the prison around ten, many of the guests began to leave, and Apollo waited at the door to say thank you for coming and goodbye to the guests.

It was a good time, but when it came to Robin, Hugh and Juniper, the goodbyes became very strange for Apollo. For Robin, she yelled '**SSSSSEEEEE YOOOOUUUU LAAATTTTEEERRR**!' to Apollo, and for Hugh, he simply nodded to Apollo with a confident smirk and proceeded to leave with Robin.

Juniper, however, simply murmured a goodbye to Apollo with a slight blush on her face and ran out of the Offices, without looking at Apollo, leaving the said attorney in red confused.

Once everyone had left the party, Apollo also began to leave, since Phoenix was closing up the offices for the next few hours, along with getting Trucy home to sleep, because she was partially drunk.

Apollo decided to leave most of his presents at the office for now, to pick it up in the morning, but took the scarf, the box of biscuits, the camera and his new bike home.

However, he won't be cycling right at the moment, since Athena is also drunk as well, and Simon asked earlier to take her home, which the said home isn't too far away from the office.

And this is where Apollo learns that other people think he's oblivious.

* * *

"Aaaaaapppooollllooo...!" slurs Athena, somewhat drunk, walking in the dark street, with the lights on. Apollo chuckles slightly, pushing the new bike along the street, walking towards Athena's house.

"What is it, Athena?" he asks, for another time, never getting tired of this silliness.

"Are...weeeeee there...yet?" Athena questions for the umpteenth time already, since leaving the Wright & Co Law Offices. Apollo shakes his head, still smiling.

"No, Athena, we're not."

"Awwww...!"

Apollo points his new camera to Athena, who's walking drunkenly. Athena and Trucy played a prank on him the other day, and this may be perfect time to exact a little payback on Athena, a recording of her drunk. This is SO going on YouTube!

"Aaaaaapppooollllooo...!"

"Yes, Athena?"

"Areee...weee...there...yet?!"

"No, Athena, we're not there yet."

"Awww...!"

Yep, so going on YouTube.

Athena notices the scarf that Apollo got round his neck, and stares at it drunkenly.

"Hey...where..." she slurs, going against a street lamp. "...did you get...that scarf?"

Apollo smiles, and tugs on it a little, looking at it with a relaxed look.

"I got it from Juniper, earlier. Don't you remember?"

"Not...reallllllllyyy..."

Apollo shook his head, sighing, trying to hold in laughter.

"Ya...know...it really...suits ya..."

Apollo looks up at Athena, raising an eyebrow while she is walking down the street.

"Really...?"

"It fits...with ya...could attract any girl..."

Apollo chuckles to himself, thinking Athena is messing round with him. Teasing is one of Athena's strong points, so Apollo decides to play along with Athena's drunken teasing.

"Huh. So, you think a girl would like me if I wore this scarf? Are you saying you like me, Athena?"

Athena frowns a little, then goes back into a drunken grin.

"Naaaaaahhhhh... I like...you...as friend... Besides,...I like...Simon...a lot..."

Apollo is glad he's recording this at the moment. He can almost taste that sweet payback right now!

"But...do you want... to know ….a secret?" Athena questions, walking up to Apollo, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Sure, go ahead, Athena!"

Athena then puts a finger up to her mouth, to signal a quiet expression. "Shhh...You mustn't telllllll...you must not tell Apollo...!"

"But, Athena, I am Apollo!"

Athena frowns, if annoyed a little.

"Yeaahhh...sure...you are..." she remarks sarcastically. She then giggles a little.

"It's a big...secret... you mustn't tell...anyone!"

Apollo smirks a little, still recording.

"So, what is it?"

"J-Junie..."

Apollo frowns a little. "What about Juniper?"

"Junie...is in love with Apollo Justice!"

Apollo's eyes wide in shock.

"**WHAT?!**" he yells, Chords of Steel coming into practice, completely shocked on what Athena had just said to him.

This was completely new news to Apollo. I mean, he never expected Juniper to be in love with him! When did she? And why didn't he pick up earlier on this?!

This DOES explain Juniper's actions earlier, though...

"It's...shhhoooccckkkinnngg..., right?" Athena slurs again, in a drunken manner. "Don't...tell Apollo! He's too oblivious!"

Apollo blinks at this.

He has caught murderers, seen through lies, caught his former mentor on the charge of murder, had many weird case, including a Japanese demon, been through heartbreak of losing a best friend and another friend who's the best friend's mentor and the said mentor accused of the best friend's murder, through a bomb explosion (maybe that when Juniper began to like him that way?), accusing a co-worker of the best friend's murder, and catching a masked killer.

Through those times, not once he has been oblivious!

There is only one sentence to say about this.

"**What do you mean I'm oblivious?!**"

* * *

**End of Part 1**

* * *

**So, author's note time.  
**

**I loved Duel Destines, and Juniper Woods became one of my favorite characters, along with the new ones in the game. I quickly began to love the pairing of her and Apollo, and I thought 'Hey! Maybe everyone else loves this shipping on Fan-Fiction!'. I was wrong, however, with all the Justicykes fans. I'm not bothered by that though, but I do believe there should be some more Junipolly.**

**So, this is how it's going down. The plot of this story starts around the end of Apollo's birthday, which I decided to be in 22nd March, which where I live, is the first official day of Spring, and will end at Juniper's birthday, which I decided should be the 30th August. The time between those two dates will be the storyline, which is about Apollo finding out Juniper's crush on him from (a drunk) Athena, who was suppose to keep it, and Apollo slowly returning the feelings through different encounters, and him thinking about it. There will be side pairings, though.**

**Here's the list of pairings:**

**Apollo and Juniper (MAIN)**

**Athena and Simon (SIDE)**

**Phoenix and Maya/Iris (Like both of them, can't decide so vague hints.)**

**Robin and Hugh (SIDE) (Dunno why. XD)**

**And others I might think of later. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Tell me what you think, and I'll see you guys on the next chapter!**


	2. This is all Athena's fault!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Loving Miss Juniper Woods

Part 2

"This... is all Athena's fault...!"

* * *

**SLAM!**

Apollo slams the front door to his apartment close, rather loudly to be in fact. Luckily, the people from next door are out at the moment, so he won't get complained at in the morning.

He places down his presents on the couch, and pinches the area between his eyes, thinking.

Apollo then glances around his apartment, thinking about what just happened.

Apollo's apartment consists of four red walls, with a dark cream carpet and some furniture.

There are two doors on the right wall, which one of them leads to Apollo's bedroom, whilst the other leads to a spare bedroom, for guests, though Apollo has been using it for storage recently.

His bedroom also has red walls, but a light brown carpet, and in the middle, is a king-size bed, with blue sheets and red duvet, with a bathroom on the left.

There is a bed side table with a lamp besides the bed, and for some reason, there is also a book, some fantasy/sci-fi kinda story that Apollo has been reading recently.

There are two wardrobes, one for formal clothes and the other is casual clothes, plus, there is also a second door, which leads to the bathroom.

The main room consist of a couch, which Apollo has put his presents on, a regular sized TV, and some filing cabinets, where Apollo stores his case files.

The left wall has two doors as well, one of them is always locked, the other one that isn't locked leads to the kitchen, which has marble flooring and paneling.

It's an average kitchen, with an oven, a fridge, some cupboards and an kitchen working top.

Apollo looks round again, then sighs, confused and angry at Athena.

This... This isn't something that he never had expected to happen...

Juniper has a crush on him?!

And Athena knowing for some months now? Does everyone know?!

"_Don't...tell Apollo! He's too oblivious!_"

Athena's drunken words ring through Apollo's mind loudly, if insulting the Attorney in Red.

As you could tell from the previous chapter, Apollo isn't a oblivious person, so I'll skip out on the explanation on this bit.

Apollo's angry for two reasons.

The first is what Athena said. Him, Apollo Justice, solver of cases, oblivious?! That's a blow to Apollo's already broken pride.

Yeah, Apollo SOMETIMES doesn't notice things, like how Athena being nervous at the Space Centre was just her remembering the past, not her murdering Clay, but most of the time, Apollo isn't oblivious.

He's solved cases due to his wit and deduction skills, so why would anyone call him oblivious?!

Apollo sighs sadly, knowing the answer to this, which happens to be part of the second reason.

He goes and sits down on his couch, to think about the second reason.

The other reason for Apollo's anger is... himself.

Juniper is a kind girl, and an aspiring Judge for the future. Apollo thinks back to what happened at Themis, and the Courtroom bombing.

He helped cheer up Juniper during Athena's first case, and then protected the flower girl during the bombing, then tried to defend her afterwards.

Maybe that's when she fell in love with him? Apollo doesn't know when.

Apollo's angry at himself for not seeing it sooner, seeing Juniper's affection for him. He shouldn't be worthy of her affections towards him.

She's a kind girl, gentle and soft-spoken by nature, but knows when to be serious.

Apollo feels like he's insulting her by not noticing her feelings towards him, causing Apollo to be angry at himself.

Apollo found her nice, and likes being her friend, but now, after what Athena said about Juniper's crush on him, he can't see her in the same light as before.

Don't worry, he still sees Juniper in a friend light, but...

It's hard to explain how Apollo's feeling about Juniper at the moment. It's awkward.

Maybe what Athena said is right, maybe Apollo IS oblivious. He couldn't see Juniper's obvious affections for him, especially tonight, when she was being shy around him.

Apollo sighs.

He doesn't know what to feel right now. He's never had any girl have affection for him at all before (almost possibly due to the fact of his spikes making him look like a devil, his loud voice and the tendency of yelling 'I'M FINE!' repeatedly.).

All the girls he met before are just friends, neutral ground, hating him or in jail.

Trucy is always round him, but doesn't seem to show romantic affection for him (good thing too, cause he heard while eavesdropping Phoenix from over the phone that he and Trucy might be related.), Athena is always too but Apollo sees her more as a sister, Pearl isn't round much and he doesn't speak to her very much and he hasn't seen Ema recently, though the moody detective is on some friendly basis with Apollo.

Juniper is literally the first girl that Apollo is (now) aware of that holds feelings towards him.

That previous sentence is the conclusion that Apollo has now in his head, after a massive train of thought through his head. He blushes a bright tomatoes red in response to this thought.

"_Damn it..._" Apollo mutters to himself, leaning forward, covering half of his red face with his hand in embarrassment. "_This... is all Athena's fault...!_"

He sighs again, and proceeds to lock up his home for the night, so he can go to bed. As Apollo does this, many thoughts about Juniper run through his mind, like a high-speed marathon.

There are some points that Apollo is currently thinking about, which the first is the history between him and Juniper.

He first met her at the Themis Law Academy in October for it's festival, and subsequently, the case of Professor Constance Courte, which Apollo helped Athena solve. During the moments when they went to visit Juniper in the Detention Centre, Apollo noticed Juniper feeling sad and knowing how that feels, cheered her up.

The brown-haired girl gave a bright smile to him back then. "_Is that when she started to like me then? We had barely known each other back then..._

_But, I did help cheer her up in a situation that everyone else thought she was guilty of a crime she did not commit..._"

Apollo's mind then remembers the School Festival Concert, after Prof Means was caught, and Juniper sang with Klavier playing the guitar at the end. However, his eyes meet with Juniper's as she scanned the stage before she began to sing.

Apollo didn't think of it much back then, but now, he swears he saw Juniper blushing.

Juniper then began visiting the office since her first trial up till Clay's murder and Solomon's trial, when she could. She and Apollo interacted with each quite some time, chatting with other until Athena turned up.

"_Maybe she visit not only to see Athena but me as well...?_

And then the whole mess with Clay's murder happened. Apollo was glad to see Juniper help to encourage him to defend Solomon, which unfortunately lead to the Courtroom blown up by the Phantom.

Apollo still remembers clearly protecting Juniper from the rubble above. Shielding her from a piece of rubble, and hurting him a lot in the process, Apollo carried a shell-shocked Juniper out of the collapsing Courtroom, and held her tight to comfort until medical help came.

And after that, Juniper's second trial, when Ted Tonate tried to blame the bombing on her, and Apollo's assault as well.

The attorney in red is very grateful towards Phoenix for defending Juniper, but something in Apollo's heart keeps telling him that it should have been HIMSELF to defend Juniper. Apollo realises this right now, after now knowing Juniper's feelings for him. He tries to get the feeling away, but it's still there?

Why?

Juniper is a friend to him, a very good friend. Why is he feeling this, towards Juniper?

"_Dude! That feeling in your heart is jealousy, and that means you like her!_"

"_Oh, shut up, Clay!_"

Those words ring through Apollo's head, past words from an old memory with a now dead friend, all too suddenly.

Apollo sighs, and remembers the memory with a small smile.

It was when they were in high school, when this memory occurred.

Apollo began liking this girl called Olivia Bus Pun (he can't remember what she looks like any more...!), one of the most popular girls at the high school at the time.

Around that time, Apollo started noticing her in the romantic sense way, but only minor.

When she began dating a football player in their school by the name of Jack Pearson, some negative feelings began appearing in Apollo's heart, so he told Clay about it.

Clay had told him that he was jealousy of Jack going out with Olivia, and he liked Olivia in the romantic sense. Apollo told him to shut up afterwards.

But, what Clay had said was true. Apollo was feeling jealous of Jack because he was going out with Olivia, because Apollo had liked Olivia.

Obviously, those feelings faded away, half by Clay convincing she wasn't worth it, and seeing Jack and Olivia, well, making out.

So, why, after all those years, have those words suddenly come back to him now?

Is Apollo jealousy that Phoenix defended Juniper?

Or is it something else entirely?

Maybe Apollo wanted to be Juniper's knight in shining armour for that trial? To be her defender, the one that will save her life from a Guilty Verdict?

Athena had said when Apollo was in hospital after the explosion but before Juniper was arrested that Apollo was extremely brave for rescuing Juniper, being her 'Knight in Shining Armour'

He remembers being slightly proud of that, on the mention of being Juniper's Knight.

Maybe that's it. Apollo was jealousy because he wanted to defend Juniper, because he began liking Juniper in a ro-

"_**HOLD IT!**_" Apollo mentally yells to himself. He suddenly looks round to see that he's in his bedroom, with one of the lights on. Apollo sighs again, and starts getting ready for bed.

He walks into the bathroom, to go brush his teeth.

Apollo's not sure what to make of Juniper any more. Sure, she's kind, gentle and soft-spoken, and maybe, JUST MAYBE Apollo MIGHT have some kind of romantic feeling for her, there are a couple of factors that is stopping him from liking her.

The first thing is, Apollo isn't sure about his feelings for Juniper. It's quite hard to describe how Apollo's feeling about her. It's is true that Apollo MIGHT have something for the student judge, but what is it?

Besides, it may or may not still be the best time for a romantic relationship.

Although it's been a few months since it happened, and Apollo's gotten over it, he's still a bit sore from Clay's death, his best friend's death.

If a relationship did start between Apollo and Juniper, Apollo's mind will be in the right place, but nothing can say about his heart being in the right place or not.

The second thing is, what if Athena was lying?

People can say things when they are drunk, true or not, but most of the time, it's just drunken banter. What if Athena said while drunk wasn't true at all? What if Juniper just sees him as a friend, and this is all a lie, and Apollo's over-thinking it?

And the third and final thing is Apollo isn't really good at romantic relationships. He's had one or two before (he thinks), and the last one he was in didn't end well so much, even Clay had to step in and help.

Apollo prefers not to talk about that one.

Maybe Apollo is over-thinking it, and it's true. But maybe it is true that Juniper has a crush on him?

Apollo lies down on his bed, thinking about all that had happened tonight, and what to do about it.

If it is true that Juniper has a crush on him, what to do about it?

Maybe Apollo should try and get to know Juniper a little more... Establish their relationship a bit better...

And see what happens from there... You may never know, something might blossom from that...

Apollo has those thoughts in his head, as he slowly drifts off to sleep.

* * *

_**Apollo's dream:**_

* * *

_It was dark, complete darkness. Nothing could be seen at all._

_Apollo looks round, trying to see what's happening, while lying on the floor, unable to get up._

"_What's happening...?" he mumbles to himself, confused._

"_AAAAAAPPPPOOOOOLLLLLLOOOOOO!"_

_That scream rings through Apollo's mind violently, if someone was screaming in his ear through a megaphone loudly._

"_What the...?"_

_Suddenly, an image appears above Apollo, during the aftermath of the bombing, Apollo carrying an unconscious Juniper outside the collapsing Courtroom. He places Juniper onto one of the Couchs, who the said girl is waking up._

_Suddenly, the police burst in, and they go to Juniper, and arrest her, shocking the attorney in red, who is being dragged away by paramedics to the hospital._

_The real Apollo is shocked at this image, not expecting it to appear._

"_No..."_

"_...Apollo..."_

_Body able to move, Apollo gets up to see Juniper standing in front of him, eyes covered by shadows._

"_...Why...don't you...save me...Apollo?"_

_Apollo is surprised by this._

"_I tried to, Juniper!_

_I saved you from the explosion, but how was I suppose to know you'll get arrested? Besides, I would have defended you if my injuries weren't in the way! I would have done it!"_

_The dream Juniper remains silent for a while._

_Apollo sweats nervously, not understanding what's happening at the moment. He can't tell if this is a dream or not._

"_Why are you running away from the truth, Apollo?"_

"_Huh? What?"_

_Suddenly, the shadows around Juniper's eyes disappear, and Apollo can see her with almost crying eyes._

"_Don't...you...love me?"_

"_What?"_

"_I love you, Apollo... Why don't you love me back...?"_

"_What?!"_

_Then, the dream Juniper came over, and kissed Apollo on the cheek._

"_WWWHHHHAAAATTTT?!"_

* * *

_**End of Dream**_

* * *

Apollo sits up, waking from the dream, shocked on what happened. He looks at his clock, which now say 8 O'clock in the morning. Apollo blinks, remembering what happened in the dream.

"_This is more complicated than I thought..._"

* * *

End of Part 2

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for not updating, I was on holiday for a while and then work got in the way. I'll try to update more frequently but I can't promise anything.  
**

**If there any questions or a small idea which could make this fic better, suggest it! I'm always welcoming ideas to this. Besides, I want more Junipolly fics on this site, and need some ideas to help get this story along. I got some ideas for the next few chapters, and I'll try to use some of your yeah, the dream sequence was one of the hardest things for me to write, since I had a basic idea but didn't know what to do with it. I'll regret that for the rest of my life! XD  
**

**Expect some side shipping in the next chapter. Dunno which though.**

**This is DragonNiro, and I'll see you guys and girls later.**


	3. I'm not sure what to do about it!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Loving Miss Juniper Woods

Part 3

"I'm not sure what to do about it..."

* * *

Apollo walks into the Wright & Co Law Offices, the morning after the party. The office itself is in it's usual state, messy and has magician props lying about the place, though there some things like balloons and the rest of Apollo's birthday presents are also about the place.

With a big sports bag and a rucksack that he brought over, Apollo begins to pack away the presents he received, though he may have to pick up the painting that Vera and Solomon had made for him later on, due to how big it is.

With that said, Apollo thinks back to last night, the party, the enjoyment, the excitement and Juniper. Apollo blushes, as the memory from the dream came back to him.

"_I still blame Athena for this mess..._"

***Click!***

Apollo turns to see Phoenix walking into the office, with a thought on his mind. Phoenix closes the door, turns and jumps at the sight of Apollo.

"Apollo!" he exclaims, surprised. "I wasn't expecting you to see back here so soon! Why are you here, spending your day off here?"

Apollo smiles slightly. Phoenix told him and Athena that they both got a day off the day after Apollo's birthday, to recover. "Eh. I woke up early, and I thought I come and grab my presents to take presents home."

Phoenix nod, smiling as well. "Fair enough. I've come to grab some head-ache tablets from the offices. Trucy has got a slight hangover from last night, and I've unexpectedly ran out. I then remembered I've got some spare ones here."

"Fair enough." Apollo remarks, putting some of the unwrapped presents away. "You should really keep that Larry character under control, you know?"

Phoenix nods seriously, then went to grab the tablets from his desk, while Apollo continues to pack the presents.

By the time Phoenix returns with the tablets, Apollo just finishes packing the presents away, all but the painting, which is leaning to it's side onto a wall.

"So, how was Trucy last night?" Apollo asks, looking at Phoenix with a inquisitive look on his face. "I knew that she drank the punch by accident, but I didn't know how strong it was until later on."

Phoenix nods, nervously a bit, thinking to what happened.

"Yeah, the bottle that Larry brought was a very strong vodka. It was lucky only two people, besides Larry, drank it. As for Trucy, she was a bit tipsy, but she feel asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow."

Apollo grins. "That's good to know. I thought she would have thrown up or something."

"Yeah, I was lucky that she didn't. I think I heard her get up in the night to go the bathroom, but that's about it.

How was Athena?"

"Ah, she's was fine. She was acting really silly, so I filmed it on my new camera."

"Revenge for that prank a couple of days ago?"

"Yep, you bet!"

"Heh." chuckles Phoenix, laughing a bit. "Did she reveal any secrets? Anything that we shouldn't know?"

Apollo blinks, mind totally blank for a second. He's still conflicted over that secret of Juniper's crush on him, so what should he say.

In the next second, Apollo remembers that Athena said, in her drunken state, that she has a crush on Simon. That would be a good excuse to use.

"She said she liked Prosecutor Blackquill in the romantic sense."

Phoenix smiles slightly. "Heh. Really? Well, I believe you when you say that Athena said that. I was talking with Aura and Solomon during the party last night, and Aura told me that Athena told her mother that she had a crush on Prosecutor Blackquill. Apparently, Blackquill still doesn't know that happened even to this day."

Apollo thinks about it. "Huh. Who knew?"

"Anyway, was there anything else? Anything else that Athena said?"

"Not really. She didn't say any other secrets."

Suddenly, Phoenix blinks, taking a step back in shock for some reason. Apollo notices a faint glow coming from his chest pocket.

Apollo knows what this is. Phoenix's Magatama is reacting to his lie, and now Psyche Locks have appeared round his heart.

Apollo remembers the MASON System, and the memories of Phoenix using the Magatama to find secrets that people are hiding. He remembers this very too well.

"...How many?" Apollo asks, his spikes drooping, due to his nervousness.

"Huh?"

"By your reaction, I can tell you're seeing Psyche Locks around my heart."

"How do yo-"

"MASON System, remember?"

"Oh yeah..."

Phoenix sighs, then looks serious. "You've got five around your heart. You're hiding something pretty deep."

"Huh..." Apollo goes, poking his forehead. "Well, there's nothing I can hide from you, Mr Wright, so I'll tell you."

Phoenix looks surprised, as Apollo's Psyche Locks shatter before his eyes. "Well, that was easy..."

Apollo sits down on the couch, and sighs, slightly depressed.

"Athena told me a secret that really shocked me last night. I'm not sure what to do about it..."

Phoenix sat down on the other couch, confused.

"What did she say?"

"That Juniper Woods has a crush on me."

"...Oh."

"Hang on a second!" Apollo remarks, surprised by this. He was expecting a bigger reaction than that!

"I just told you a big secret and you just go '…...Oh'?!"

Phoenix put his hand at the back of his head, nervous. "Ah...I already knew about that."

Apollo blinks, unable to comprehend this.

"WHAT?!"

"You see..." starts Phoenix, still nervous. "When I was defending Juniper on that bombing case, when she was testifying, talking about you made her feel better since she was nervous. Juniper kept going on about you. I don't have Athena's ability to hear emotions, but even I could hear her affections for you in her voice."

"..." Apollo goes, completely speechless from this revaluation.

"You...got...to be...kidding me...

I...never...knew that..."

Phoenix blinks, starting to understand what Apollo is feeling about this whole thing.

"Huh... From what I can tell, you were pretty shocked about it.

I would too if someone I knew had a crush on me, and she was a really good friend..."

Apollo remains silent.

Phoenix went into his thinking pose. "So, what do you think about this whole situation?"

"I feel quite angry at Athena and myself." Apollo remarks, bluntly, frowning.

"How come?"

"Athena called me oblivious after telling me that secret. I feel insulted by that since I'm not oblivious at all.

If I was, how could I solve my cases, or help people?"

Phoenix nods, in agreement. "That is true. You wouldn't be a good lawyer if you were oblivious."

"I know, right?"

"So, what's the other reason?" Phoenix asks, curious. "Why are you angry at yourself?"

Apollo explains his reason for his anger at himself, telling Phoenix that he feels like he's insulting Juniper for not noticing her feelings for him, and should have done something about it.

I'm not repeating myself, because you guys already got the gist of it.

Phoenix frowns, thinking about what Apollo had explained to him.

"I see... You're obviously torn over this..." he murmurs, thinking.

"I decided to get to know Juniper a little more." Apollo remarks, a natural expression on his face. "That way I can see if anything else will develop from there, if I do have feelings or not."

The reason why Apollo didn't share the dream he had, is because that is private, and might be embarrassing.

"That sounds like a good idea..." Phoenix goes, smiling slightly. "You can see what will happen, and what to do about it."

He then shrugs his shoulders, then smiles again.

"If you want, I could help you with getting to know Juniper better."

Apollo frowns a little. "Are you trying to do that thing that Pearl keeps going on about, the whole 'special someone' thing?"

"No, goodness, no!" Phoenix exclaims, surprised at this accusation. "Where did you hear about that?"

"Over-heard Trucy and Pearl talk about this girl you used to know called Dahlia, and how much an evil person she was, and saying this girl that you also know named Maya is a better choice. Pearl went onto saying that this Maya was your special someone."

Phoenix looks slightly disheartened. "Yeah... That's typical of Pearl..."

"What was all about that Dahlia and Maya?"

"For Dahlia, look up the first case of a defence attorney called Mia Fey, and the case proceed it and connecting it." Phoenix says, frowning.

"It's something I don't like talking about that much."

Then, Phoenix brightened up a bit. "As for Maya, she was my assistant for the first few years as a defence attorney. She helped with every case that I got, apart from a few exception, one of them you're quite aware of."

Apollo nods, frowning deeply. "Yeah. The case that got you disbarred."

Phoenix chuckles a bit, remembering the past. "I met Pearl in my second year as a defence attorney, and for some reason, she always thought me and Maya were in love with each other. It got awkward sometimes."

Apollo nods, thinking about any situation that Pearl, Phoenix and Maya might have been in.

"Well, did you?"

"Huh?"

"Where you in love in Maya?"

Phoenix shook his head, itching the back of his head.

"No, not really. Maya is more of my best friend than a girlfriend to me, and I think she feels the same back as well.

I really enjoyed having her company back in my starting days, since Edgeworth was being distant with me and...you know what Larry's like."

Apollo nods, though not believing Phoenix saying Maya isn't a girlfriend to him.

"_I felt you tense when you say that, Mr Wright..._" Apollo thinks.

"Anyway, I'll try and help you get to know Juniper better." Phoenix states, getting back to the subject of Juniper's crush on Apollo.

"Because, to be honest, I do think you have a chance with her. You're a nice person, and she's a kind person. I think you two would be good together."

Apollo's face becomes slightly red at this comment.

"I see... Uh...Thanks for helping...Mr Wright..."

Phoenix smiles. Since Trucy is his (adopted) daughter, technically, Apollo counts as his son as well, since Trucy and Apollo are related.

Besides, ever since Apollo joined the offices, he's become more of a mentor and father to the young attorney in red, and giving him advice is like a father giving the same advice to his son.

"_Apollo and Trucy as my son and daughter..._" Phoenix thinks to himself. "_Well that's a nice thought..._

_But, who would be the mother of this family...?_"

Phoenix's mind then suddenly wanders to both Maya and Iris, who he hasn't seen for a while.

"_Maybe I should focus on Apollo's problem at the moment... Me and Trucy are heading to Kurain in a couple of days, and I have invited Athena and Apollo to go..._

_Maybe I should get Apollo to extend the invitation to Juniper. There are some rare flowers that grow around Kurain so Juniper may be interested in..._

_I hope Maya doesn't mind, but on the other hand, she is interested in meeting Athena and vice versa, since Athena wants to know about Pearl and Maya, because their spiritual background..."_

Phoenix decides to give Apollo his thought about visiting Kurain in the next few days, and about inviting Juniper along for the ride.

Apollo gives a massive grin. "That sounds like a great idea, Mr Wright. I think Juniper would love it there."

But then, Apollo pokes his head, thinking. "But wouldn't your Maya friend be okay with it? She is the Master of Kurain after all, and heard masters are quite funny with guests sometimes..."

Phoenix shakes his head, giving a smile. "Nah, Maya will be fine with it. She loves company a lot, and she probably say 'the more, the merrier, Nick!'"

"'Nick'?

"A nickname that Maya gave to me after my second case. Why do you think Pearl calls me 'Mr. Nick'?"

"Fair enough."

Apollo pokes his head, frowning a little. "Ah... Just remembered something..."

"What is it?" Phoenix asks, curious.

Apollo sweats, slightly disheartened. "I...don't have...Juniper's number. I can't ring her up and ask her to come..."

Phoenix shakes his head. "No worries. I causally suggest to Athena, saying that there are rare flowers around Kurain to see, and say that Juniper might be interested in coming to see them. I noticed with Athena that when her friends are mentioned, she always tries to get them to come along."

Apollo grins again. "That's good. Athena would invite Juniper along."

The attorney in red pokes his head again, thinking.

"You know what, Mr Wright, I think I've learned a very important lesson from all of this."

"What is it?"

"If you want to keep a secret with Athena, don't let her near or let her drink anything alcoholic."

Phoenix nods, grimacing.

"Yeah... I agree."

***CLICK!***

The two turn to see Athena walk into the Offices, bags under her eyes, and her ponytail drooping a little.

"Oh mein Gott..." she murmurs, grabbing her head in pain.

"I got the worse hangover..."

"Athena!" Phoenix exclaims, shocked to see Athena here at the offices. "I thought I told you had a day off today! Why are you here?"

"...I ran out of head-ache tablets, and I remembered that I had some in my desk..."

As Phoenix fussed over Athena, Apollo is in deep thinking about what could happen.

"_So, a plan is set in motion... My heart is racing at this thought..._

_Spending time with Juniper, to see if I like her in THAT way..._

_The more and more I think about it... My heart's getting faster and faster..._

_Only a few days until that day..._

_Urk... This is getting too much for me..._"

* * *

**End of Part 3**

* * *

**A/N: ...Okay, I might have lied when I said there was some side shipping in this chapter. I WAS planning to, but it didn't turn up. I did give hints, though.**

**The first of some story arcs in this story is next. MAYBE some longer chapters? XD. Anyway, tell me what you think of this chapter, and any ideas that I could use. I'll PM you if I like your idea, or I'll write it here. To Martial Arts Master, thanks for that idea. I think no one has used that yet.**

**Anyway, this is DragonNiro, and I'll see you guys and girls later!**


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